First Detection and Thermal Characterization of Terminator CO₂ Ice Clouds With ExoMars/NOMAD

Liuzzi, Giuliano; Villanueva, Geronimo L.; Trompet, Loïc; Crismani, Matteo M. J.; Piccialli, Arianna; Aoki, Shohei; Lopez‐Valverde, Miguel Angel; Stolzenbach, Aurélien; Daerden, Frank; Neary, Lori; Smith, Michael D.; Patel, Manish R.; Lewis, Stephen R.; Clancy, R. Todd; Thomas, Ian R.; Ristic, Bojan; Bellucci, Giancarlo; Lopez‐Moreno, Jose‐Juan and Vandaele, Ann Carine (2021). First Detection and Thermal Characterization of Terminator CO₂ Ice Clouds With ExoMars/NOMAD. Geophysical Research Letters, 48(22), article no. e2021GL095895.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL095895

Abstract

We present observations of terminator CO₂ ice clouds events in three groups: Equatorial dawn, Equatorial dusk (both between 20°S and 20°N) and Southern midlatitudes at dawn (45°S and 55°S east of Hellas Basin) with ESA ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter's Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery instrument. CO₂ ice abundance is retrieved simultaneously with water ice, dust, and particle sizes, and rotational temperature and CO₂ column profiles in 16 of 26 cases. Small particles (<0.5 μm) prevail at dusk, while water ice likely provides most source nuclei at dawn. Clouds east of Hellas are found to be dominantly nucleated on surface-lifted dust. CO₂ ice is sometimes detected in unsaturated air together with dust nuclei at dawn, suggesting ongoing sublimation. Depending on latitude and local time, the interplay between particle precipitation and the lifetime of temperature minima (i.e., cold pockets) determines CO₂ ice properties.

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About

• Item ORO ID
• 80274
• Item Type
• Journal Item
• ISSN
• 0094-8276
• Project Funding Details

• Funded Project Name	Project ID	Funding Body
  Not Set	ST/V002295/1	UKSA UK Space Agency
  Not Set	ST/V005332/1	UKSA UK Space Agency
  Characterizing the Martian water cycle by assimilating ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter data	ST/R001405/1	UKSA UK Space Agency
  Surface/atmosphere interactions from above and below.	ST/S00145X/1	UKSA UK Space Agency

• Keywords
• Mars; CO2 ice clouds; NOMAD; atmosphere; aerosols; temperature
• Academic Unit or School
• Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) > Physical Sciences
  Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
• Research Group
• Space
• Copyright Holders
• © 2021 The Authors.
• Depositing User
• Stephen Lewis